For many centuries the land was without any accepted religious doctrine. Buddhism, which existed for one thousand years before the present dynasty came to the throne, had fallen into disfavour; the tenets of Confucius did not completely satisfy the minds of the upper classes, and Shamanism was the worship of the more primitive masses. The moment was ripe for the introduction of a more practical philosophy, and in time, as the gospel of Christianity spread, opposition to the great creed of humanitarianism lessened. Toleration of the many phases of Western belief is now general, the Korean finding in the profession of Christianity an easy means of evading the exactions of the officials. Nevertheless, the diffusion of Christianity is not unattended with bloodshed and disaster. Apart from this drawback to the propagation of Christian beliefs in Korea, it may be doubted whether the methods of the various missionary bodies bear the impress of that spirit of charity which should illustrate their teaching. Without impugning the individual attainments of any of the many missionary groups who administer to the needs of the Koreans, I find it difficult to affirm that the principles of self-abnegation so manifest in the lives of the Roman Catholic priests and the workers of the Church of England Mission, are equally in evidence in the comfortable existence which is led by the well-paid _attachés_ of the American Mission Boards. The French priests live in abject poverty; striving to identify themselves with the conditions of their flock, they accept neither holiday nor reward as compensation for their services. In this bare comparison of the principles of ministration, I do not wish, at the moment, to venture into the domain of controversy, but merely to convey some impression of the competing systems of procedure.